Secrets and Smiles
727 Words
The next few days became something I never expected.
A routine.
I would walk into school, look around for Ethan, and somehow the day would feel easier once I saw him.
It was strange how quickly someone could go from being a stranger to someone you looked forward to seeing.
Ethan and I started spending almost every break together. We talked about random things—music, movies, teachers we secretly found funny, and our dreams for the future.
But there was one thing we never talked about.
His past.
Every time the conversation got close to that topic, he found a way to change it.
And I noticed.
I always noticed.
“Are you staring at me?” Ethan asked one morning.
I quickly looked away.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You definitely were.”
“I was just thinking.”
“About me?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t be so confident.”
He laughed.
That was something I liked about him.
He made it easy to smile.
We were walking to class when I noticed a girl standing by Ethan’s locker.
She looked upset.
“Ethan, we need to talk.”
His smile disappeared.
The girl glanced at me.
“Oh.”
Her expression changed.
“I didn’t know you had a friend now.”
Friend.
The word sounded simple.
But something about the way she said it made me uncomfortable.
Ethan closed his locker.
“Lily, not here.”
“I just want an answer.”
He sighed.
“Later.”
She walked away, but not before looking back at him.
I waited until she was gone.
“Who was that?”
Ethan became quiet.
“Nobody.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Nobody doesn’t usually look that angry.”
He looked at me.
“You notice everything, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
He smiled slightly.
But this time, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Lily and I used to be friends.”
“Used to?”
“Yeah.”
I wanted to ask more, but something in his voice told me not to.
So instead, I nodded.
“Okay.”
He looked surprised.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“I want to.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
I shrugged.
“Because you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
Then he smiled.
A real smile this time.
“You remembered.”
“Of course I did.”
The rest of the day was normal, but I couldn’t forget the look on his face when he saw Lily.
There was sadness there.
And maybe regret.
After school, we sat outside near the field.
The sky was turning orange, and the school was almost empty.
Ethan was quiet.
Too quiet.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He looked at the ground.
“Have you ever done something you wish you could take back?”
The question surprised me.
I thought about it.
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
I looked away.
“Something from my old school.”
He nodded.
“You don’t talk about it either.”
I smiled sadly.
“Maybe we’re both good at keeping secrets.”
He laughed softly.
“Maybe.”
The silence between us felt different now.
Not uncomfortable.
Just honest.
Then Ethan said, “Sometimes people only see the version of you that they want to see.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
He looked at the sunset.
“They think they know you. But they don’t know what you’ve been through.”
His words stayed in my mind.
Because I knew exactly what he meant.
Maybe Ethan wasn’t mysterious because he wanted to hide.
Maybe he was just protecting a part of himself that had been hurt.
And maybe…
I was starting to care about that part of him.
More than I should.
That night, I opened my notebook again.
But instead of writing about my own problems, I wrote about Ethan.
He smiles a lot.
But I think there’s a sadness behind it.
I wonder what happened to him.
I closed the notebook.
For the first time, I wasn’t just curious about Ethan.
I wanted to understand him.
And I was beginning to realize something dangerous.
I was beginning to like him.
- Writer
